Clown dead - Agian! Please Help

susiestank

Member
Okay here's the deal. 4 months ago I had to redo my tank - after a year and a half. then about 6 weeks ago I got a clown - it randomly died - everything was fine swimming - eating - water levels all good etc. It died after a month. Then 2 weeks ago I got another one - different lfs - today its dead. I have nooo idea whats going on. My levels are fine - nitrate 0-5 , nitrite 0 , ammonia 0 , ph 8.2 , salt 1.025 , calcium 400-500 , 0 copper. All my corals and inverts are fine and healthy and no deaths. Any one have any idea what the hell is going on???? Please help.
 

nanoman94

New Member
This is totally baffling to us.
Stuff we have in our tank (All still Living):
Peppermint Shrimp
Emerald Crab
Xenia
Purple Mushroom
Snails and hermits
Both fish have been healthy looking and ate normally. What is going on here?????
 

paulcoates

Member
dumb question...
water changes?
what type of salt?
power heads?
filter?
substrate?
are you sure there are no killers hiding in your live rock?
where are you in HoCo? I am in Columbia right now
 

teen

Active Member
is the temperature fluctuating at all during the night and day? any stray voltage?
 

susiestank

Member
Originally Posted by paulcoates
dumb question...
water changes?
what type of salt?
power heads?
filter?
substrate?
are you sure there are no killers hiding in your live rock?
where are you in HoCo? I am in Columbia right now
Water changes are once a week 4-5 gallons with RoDi water and top offs with RoDi water. Using SeaChem Reef salt. Power heads? theres 3 - always have been - he isnt getting sucked into them or anything. For filtering we have protein skimmer and lots of lr 40-50 lbs. Substrate - sand.
What killers should I be looking for? What could kill a fish that wouldnt kill anything else?
 

susiestank

Member
Originally Posted by teen
is the temperature fluctuating at all during the night and day? any stray voltage?
Usually before lights on 80.5 by end of day maybe 81.5. sometimes doesnt fluctuate at all. Nothing else is being affected by this so I dont think its any temp problems. Inverts and corals as happy as can be.
I dont know about stray voltage - how would you know and wouldnt this hurt other animals?
 

susiestank

Member
Originally Posted by swlover
What kind of clowns? How big are they when you get them? They eating good?
They came from 2 diffrent stores. Both Occerlaris - the first one was small and the second one was medium. they were both eating very good - they loved to eat and both were swimming good. No signs of anything on either fish. Fine yesterday - come home today - dead.
 

paulcoates

Member
I've actually had a clown get caught in a power head. Does he look chewed up at all? Or is he a pristine dead fish?
The only thing I can think of is that you could have a hiding mantis, but I doubt it. Your other inverts would be getting hit too.
I can only assume that the same reason your tank crashed a few months ago might be the same reason you are having problems again (obviously on a smaller scale)
Like Sherlock Holmes said - all things considered, the most obvious solution is probably the answer.
 

nanoman94

New Member
The crash months ago was due to a circuit breaker problem and we were out of town. The fish aren't chewed up at all. Hiding mantis? We have an emerald crab but he isn't that big.
 

susiestank

Member
Originally Posted by paulcoates
will your LFS test your water in detail?
What other things could be tested for? Besides the things already accounted for?
 

rcbruce

Member
I've had the same problem with clownfish. Question....do they look like they are peeling, i.e. slime coming off? This is what happened to mine. I read books like crazy and asked questions till I was horse. Best I could come up with, clowns can be delicate due to having no scales, they are very prone to higher nitrate levels and parasites. I was getting small to medium tank raised fish, going on the school of thought that small fish adapt easier, and tank raised are less stressed, etc. In the end I was responsable for the death of 4 clownfish of various genus.
OK, mad and determinded to have a healthy clown in my tank, I decided to go 180 degrees the other way. I wondered if inbreeding and small size might be playing a role. I purchased a rather large, wild caught clarkii clown. I also added chemi pure to my canister filter, which I can vouch for adds appetite to fish.
Never had one last longer than 2 weeks before. The results so far? You judge>
 

susiestank

Member
Originally Posted by RCBruce
I've had the same problem with clownfish. Question....do they look like they are peeling, i.e. slime coming off? This is what happened to mine. I read books like crazy and asked questions till I was horse. Best I could come up with, clowns can be delicate due to having no scales, they are very prone to higher nitrate levels and parasites. I was getting small to medium tank raised fish, going on the school of thought that small fish adapt easier, and tank raised are less stressed, etc. In the end I was responsable for the death of 4 clownfish of various genus.
OK, mad and determinded to have a healthy clown in my tank, I decided to go 180 degrees the other way. I wondered if inbreeding and small size might be playing a role. I purchased a rather large, wild caught clarkii clown. I also added chemi pure to my canister filter, which I can vouch for adds appetite to fish.
Never had one last longer than 2 weeks before. The results so far? You judge>

How long would the peeling slime be there? Ever since the first time the clown died , I was checking this fish constantly. Yesterday morning before I left for the day - looked great swimming etc. Great color no spots etc. Then I came home about 8 hours later - dead. The same thing happened with the other one. I am just confused! The first clown we had - before the circuit break vacation incident we had had a year and a half. He went through everything - being driven down the beltway when I moved , changing rocks , etc. He was the best fish ever. Now ever since I have tried to have one - they die. Im just so confused. Its really rather fustrating.
Is there any sort of disesase the first clown could of had - that shows no symptoms on the fish, and left it in the water - killing the second?
 

rykna

Active Member
:thinking: One thing I could think of is internal parisites. Fish appear to be healthy, eat fine, and then BAM...dead.
That is quite the mystery. I would take your tank water to your lfs and have them check it. If the readings come back the same as your testings then I would remove that from the list....
Next I would get, rent, a small device that electritians use for detecting stray voltage, and check the tank, the outlets used for the tank, and the rest of your house. I had friends who lost everything because of stray voltage.(Their tanks were freshwater.) I wonder(this is just a theory but)...Fish salt and fresh have a heart, and a heart beat, unlike coral. Which would point to why your fish are dying and your coral are not effected. The shocks would be enough to effect the heart and basically stop beating. :thinking:
 

susiestank

Member
Originally Posted by Rykna
:thinking: One thing I could think of is internal parisites. Fish appear to be healthy, eat fine, and then BAM...dead.
That is quite the mystery. I would take your tank water to your lfs and have them check it. If the readings come back the same as your testings then I would remove that from the list....
Next I would get, rent, a small device that electritians use for detecting stray voltage, and check the tank, the outlets used for the tank, and the rest of your house. I had friends who lost everything because of stray voltage.(Their tanks were freshwater.) I wonder(this is just a theory but)...Fish salt and fresh have a heart, and a heart beat, unlike coral. Which would point to why your fish are dying and your coral are not effected. The shocks would be enough to effect the heart and basically stop beating. :thinking:

What about other inverts like shrimp crabs and snails? If there was stray voltage would they be affected?
 

rykna

Active Member
I would think so I'll have to go look up the antomy of the crabs, inverts, and such. Their so tiny, I'm not sure about their heart and blood flow. :notsure:
 

susiestank

Member
Originally Posted by Rykna
I would think so I'll have to go look up the antomy of the crabs, inverts, and such. Their so tiny, I'm not sure about their heart and blood flow. :notsure:

Ya thats why I didnt think it would be stray voltage - since I am sure they have a heart and blood flow - but im not sure. This is just so fustrating.
Okay now here is another question. I dont know if this helps any. When my tank crashed after a year and a half because the circuit breaker went out - when I found the fish dead the first time he had all his color. With there two last deaths my fish were whiteish when I found them dead. I dont know if this makes any difference - but figured i'd throw it out there. Urgh!!!!!!!!
 
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